Popular 100E

Classic Fords restored: Mike Randall’s 1961 Ford Popular 100E previously belonged to his father Barry, so Mike’s spent three years restoring the car as a tribute to him.

- Mike Renaut

Barry Randall was a car fan through and through. Doing his apprenticeship at a Ford garage in Dartford taught him mechanical skills he passed on to his son Mike, the same skills Mike would later use to restore his late father’s 100E.

“Dad bought this 1961 Ford Popular 100E in November 2006 for £550,” remembers Mike. That was quite a bargain considering it was a two-door in very good condition. “I already had a 1966 Cortina and Dad wanted something of his own he could drive to shows with me. The 100E was solid and roadworthy although someone had hand-painted the headlining and sunvisors black, and it also had Anglia rear lights.” Mike and Barry soon found a pair of correct taillights in the pile of spares that came with the car. Barry quickly made the car his own, adding a sunvisor, chrome headlight surrounds and spotlights.

“The paint was a bit patchy,” says Mike. “It looked tired. I would touch up bits and pieces with spray cans and we generally tarted it up and drove it to shows.”

Then Barry fell ill and could no longer drive, so Mike would take him out in the Cortina. Sadly, Barry died in 2010 and his 100E then sat in his garden under a sheet for two years.

“My mum mentioned selling it, but before she’d completed the sentence I was pushing the car towards the garage,” smiles Mike. “I started stripping it down in 2012 in a single car garage, squeezing past with a handheld light on a long lead.” Restoring the Popular would take Mike the next three years.

The stripper